By My Side
by KrystalClear101
Summary: To him, it was all a game but to her it was real life. Because he was the older brother of the boy she fell in love with and she was one of his students. ItachiSakuraSasuke. R&R please.
1. Pilot

Chapter One—Pilot

It was the very height of summer time that found one Haruno Sakura smiling prettily into her bedroom mirror dressed in red and white clothing, a sundress to be exact. She was putting the finishing touches on her ensemble for a party she was attending. For it was July 23, Sasuke's birthday. And she had to be absolutely perfect.

Not that she had anyone to impress, well the birthday boy of course. But knowing him he probably wouldn't give her a second glance, she sighed. Still she had to look her best, even if it was for a _sortakinda_ vain reason. Nonetheless, whether he looked her way or not, she looked pretty.

Nodding at her reflection, Sakura grabbed her present for the young boy and left the room. It was somewhat hard picking out a present for a sixteen year old turning seventeen who acted like he disliked everything but tomatoes. She was about three headaches away from giving him the plant. But with lots of thinking, elbow grease and painkillers, she was able to come up with something she thought he'd like.

A custom made…!

T-shirt that said 'I Heart Tomatoes' and if he didn't like it, well there was also a gift card to Starbucks in the bag as well.

She hoped he liked it but gosh she'd be pretty upset if he didn't. She worked hard on the blasted shirt, even had the bandages on her poor fingers to prove it. But that was beside the point, she guessed.

"Sakura-san, welcome!" Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, greeted the pinkette at the front door with a jovial smile. Sakura returned the gesture as she was ushered inside and towards the backyard where the real party was being held.

"Sasuke-kun! Sakura's here!" she announced. The other patrons looked up from the activities they were engaged in to see her entering. So far the only people there that she recognized were Sasuke's parents, Naruto, their sensei? And the birthday boy himself, of course. Well, she was kind of early.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura called unsurely. He turned to her with a certain kind of mirth hidden beneath his mysterious mask at her questioning call.

"Ah it's nice to see you Sakura." He greeted with a small wave. She nodded hesitantly before moving away to set her gift down on the table. Just what in the world was he doing here, she wondered.

"Sakura-chan!" Ah! And there was Naruto! Sakura slightly backed away from his approaching figure. Naruto had always been a kind soul, if not a bit overbearing at times. And annoying. And loud. And a bit brash, but hey, who's counting faults?

"Man am I glad you're here! This party is so _boring_!" he exclaimed, slinging an arm around her thin shoulders. Sakura laughed nervously, just itching to sock the guy right in the gut for having the gall to put his arm around her as if they were old drinking buddies or something. The nerve of some people.

"No one's making you stay, idiot." Came the grumbling voice of Sasuke. "Hey Sakura."

"H-Hi Sasuke!" she nearly shrieked. He came out of nowhere! "Hap-Happy Birthday!"

"Aa." He acknowledged her celebration of his birth with a stiff nod and a two second glance at her before turning back to Naruto who, by now, had rested nearly his entire body weight of 175 pounds on Sakura's right side.

"Ugh, I'm dying!" he cried. "Sakura-chan save me!" he clawed at her dress, nearly exposing her.

That was the last straw.

"Get off!" then came the punch. Her fist shook with rage as Naruto recoiled away from her, clutching his stomach as he went. She sighed heavily before righting herself and turning back to Sasuke who was watching Naruto sulk across the yard with a little humor is his dark brooding stare. It was just beautiful to look at.

"So! Uh," she started but froze once his attention was on her.

"Hn?"

"It's uh some nice weather, right?" she laughed nervously.

"Aa." Gosh! Why was it so hard to talk to him? Biting her lip nervously she looked about the party, trying to pick something_anything_ she could start a conversation about.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she cried out of nowhere. Sasuke looked at her strangely before she shook off her nerves. "What's he doing here?"

She could've sworn she saw him blush. But a couple blinks and the redness had visibly disappeared.

"No other reason than to annoy me." He replied, sending a silent glare to the silver haired man who, in response to Sasuke's daggers digging into his back, turned to the pair and creased his eyes at them. Sakura laughed lightly while Sasuke narrowed and rolled his eyes.

"Well I think it's nice that he showed up." She said with a smile. She had the whole cute routine going for her. The tiny smile, a little blush, the adorable hand clasp thing and the wind was even blowing a bit. It was simply-

"Sasuke-kun!"

Awful.

"Great." He grumbled. My sentiments exactly, Sakura thought with disdain as none other than Yamanaka Ino came bounding over to them dressed in what Sakura considered to be a sort of clothing meant to attract the attention of men.

"Hey birthday boy," she spoke in a sultry voice, throwing her arms around him and bringing her face uncomfortably close to his, tracing the top of his shirt with her pointer finger. And Sakura was reeling, wringing her hands around her dress as she did so, face nearly as red as her dress.

'_How dare that scantily clad, spacing invading PIG just-just come out of nowhere and-and!'_

"Why are you wasting your time with _fivehead_ over here when you could be with me?" she asked in a pouty voice. Sasuke pried her freshly tanned arms off of him and stalked to the other end of the yard, thoroughly irritated.

"Ino…" Sakura growled just as he was leaving.

"Well, well, if it isn't Sakura. Trying to look pretty for Sasuke? Ha! As if he would ever look at you." The blonde snorted before swinging her ponytail just for good measure and sauntering away. Oh how that girl infuriated Sakura! And to think that they used to call themselves friends. Ha! Who would ever want to be friends with that, she sneered.

No matter, there was a table of food calling her name. She'd deal with Ino later, but for now she felt it was time to eat. As she was walking she scanned the party to see that quite a few people had filled up the yard since her arrival. Good, she thought. Even though she kind of wanted it to be just her and Sasuke, she was glad more of their friends showed up. She wanted him to have a good party.

Even if he was a tad antisocial.

"Oh Sakura-san!" someone called out to her just as she was about to grab a plate. It turned out that Mikoto was waving at her from the back door, beckoning her to come over. Sakura's brain was telling her to go find out what the older woman needed from her while her stomach was saying, 'Forget her and feed me!'

"Yes?" once inside, Mikoto led Sakura to the kitchen where an unfrosted plain white cake sat on top of the marble counter with a cup of icing sitting next to it.

"I'm about to frost Sasuke-kun's cake and I need your opinion." She beamed and Sakura was surprised. Sasuke's mother. The woman who gave birth to boy she had declared her love for at the age of twelve, was asking for her help. Can you say dream come true?

"You need my opinion?" She asked, utterly stunned.

"Yes. You see, Sasuke-kun doesn't like sweets so it's really hard to make his cake. Could you taste the frosting to make sure it's not too sweet?" she asked sweetly. Man, did she ever have the cute begging routine pegged. Sakura was a bit jealous of how well she pulled it off. So, out of respect for her flawless acting, of course she tasted it.

And resisted the urge to spit it out right afterwards.

"So?" she asked hopefully.

"It's so…bland." She replied with a distasteful frown.

"Perfect! Thank you Sakura-san! Now I just need to—oh! I forgot my piping tools. Could you start frosting until I get back?" she asked. Not giving her the chance to respond, she disappeared to another part of the house leaving Sakura there standing dumbfounded, not knowing the first thing about frosting a cake.

Sure she'd seen her mother do it plenty of times but she'd never actually tried it herself. But Mikoto was trusting her! And so was Sasuke, if only a little bit, and she couldn't let either of them down.

"Right. It's no big deal, just a cake. I can do this!" With that, she took the necessary tools lying around and set to frosting the tasteless dessert until Mikoto returned. It was simple enough, easy to evenly spread it over the top surface. The hard part came in the form of spreading it along the sides. Just as she was getting the hang of it, her elbow (traitorous body part) knocked over a package of flour sitting on the counter. And guess what?

It got all over Sakura's dress. Ain't life grand?

"Oh Sakura!" Cried Mikoto as she rushed in with a basket in her hands. And Sakura wanted to cry because it was her favorite dress and now it was all white instead of red and white and she had embarrassed herself in front of Sasuke's mother and the tears were coming.

"There's a bathroom down the hall for you to wash up in. I'll see if I can find some clothes for you to wear."

And that's where this very hot July day found one Haruno Sakura seated on the edge of the tub in the bathroom of Uchiha Sasuke on his seventeenth birthday. She had taken a paper towel and was trying with all her might to get the flour off without making it any worse than it already was. Sighing angrily, Sakura tossed the paper towel in the trash, deciding to give up and wait for Mikoto to bring her a change of clothes.

"This day couldn't possibly get any worse…" she grumbled, stepping out of the bathroom and right into the chest of someone much taller than her. Repelled backwards upon impact Sakura stumbled a bit before righting herself enough to gaze up at the human blockade who oh Gods when did Sasuke get so tall!

Wait…

"Sas—ah…" she stammered.

"Hm?" a deep voice, much deeper than Sasuke's, hummed in response to her stuttering.

"Sakura-san, I found this for you—oh! Itachi-kun!"

Itachi…kun?

"This is Sakura-san, one of Sasuke's friends from school." She introduced with a smile. "Sakura-san, this is my oldest son, Itachi."

"Nice to meet you Itachi-san." Still _redintheface_ Sakura bowed while Itachi nodded with a small smile.

"Here, I hope this fits ok. It's one of my dresses. Hurry and change, we're going to cut the cake soon, ok? Come on Itachi-kun you can help me." With that, Mikoto pulled her eldest son with her to the kitchen, leaving Sakura to switch clothing and ponder what just happened and when did Sasuke get an older brother?

After closing the door to the bathroom, she just stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face, Mikoto's dress in her hands and noises from the party seeping in through the bathroom window along with a dry wind that swept passed her. So Sasuke had an older brother who looked almost exactly like him aside from the fact that he was just a bit taller.

"Wow,"

The dress fit snug, mostly around the hips which made the pinkette a little self-conscious. If it wasn't her forehead being teased, it was the size of her hips. It's not like they were huge or anything they were just very _defined_ and she guessed _defined hips_ was so last season. Still, there wasn't much she could do about it at this moment.

Sighing at her reflection one last time, Sakura walked out the bathroom and back towards the party. Just as she entered the yard everyone was gathering around the pure white cake with Sasuke standing right next to it with arguably the most annoyed yet pleased look she had ever seen on a human being.

"Start the song!" Naruto shouted.

"Idio-!"

"Happy Birthday to you!"

"Again!"

"Happy Birthday to you!"

"Again!"

"Happy Birthday dear Sasuke!"

"Agai-!"

"Naruto shut up!"

"-Birthday to you!"

Birthday candles, a little blowing, and several glares later Sasuke was ready to open gifts! And Sakura was ready to run and hide! Just what in the hell was she thinking? _Making_ him a shirt? That just screams 'I'm poor and couldn't afford to buy you an actual gift so I made it!' She was panicking on the inside and showing signs of it on the out. Especially after seeing the expensive gift Ino bought.

Even Naruto had a cool gift.

'_My life is over.'_

"Oh look Sasuke-kun, this one is from Sakura-san." Mikoto handed over the present and Sakura's social death sentence. With each passing second, Sakura's heart was hammering in her chest making her feel as if it were going to burst. She couldn't take it. It was too nerve wracking to watch. So she retreated to the long sought after food table on the other side of the yard.

"Sakura, huh?" he smirked slightly, his eyes scanning the crowd for the pink haired girl. But he frowned when he didn't spot her.

While Sasuke busied himself with tearing through layers of dark colored tissue paper, Sakura was stacking her plate with food. The sound of laughter in the background did nothing to quell her nerves as she finished off her plate with a handful of potato chips.

"Why me…?" she muttered to herself.

"Did you make that shirt?" a deep voice, much deeper than Sasuke's, asked as Sakura planted herself in an open lawn chair.

"Huh? Oh, I-Itachi-san uhm-"

"I haven't seen him really smile like that in a while." He said. And Sakura just stared at him with that 'Oh my gosh, he's talking to me,' look on her face.

"I think you had something do with that." Itachi smiled before taking one of the chips off her plate and walking away.

Looking down at her missing potato chip, Sakura was able to smile. Because despite the fact Ino stole Sasuke's attention, she spilled flour all over her favorite dress, and risked humiliation by giving Sasuke a handmade gift it was a good day and there was a chance, and tiny itty bitty chance that he just may like the little present she spent her time and effort on.

Just a little.

And soon the party came to an end and all of Sasuke's little friends departed with waves and calls and whatnot. That left his two good friend's Sakura and Naruto helping out with the cleanup in their own ways. Naruto was cleaning out the food while Sakura cleaned up her dress.

In the laundry room.

"Stupid flour. Stupid dress. Stupid Ino and her stupid…stupid flour! Ugh!" growling will get you nowhere Sakura!

"You're quite strange, you know that?" there goes that deep voice again. It just kept coming out of nowhere.

"Itachi-san! Eh—I," she gulped, looking down at the open washing machine before throwing her dress inside along with a generous amount of detergent.

"Hmm," he hummed, leaning back against the dryer with his arms crossed over his chest. And Sakura blushed because he just looked so perfect and so beautiful and she was definitely ogling.

"You're in the same class as Sasuke." He stated.

"Yes." She replied in a small quiet voice.

"What do you think of him?" he asked, turning his head to look her dead in the eye.

"What do I think?" she stammered, looking around the small room unsurely as she gathered her thoughts. "Sasuke is…he's really cool and handsome and-"

"No," he stopped her, standing up from the dryer to stand in front of her. And suddenly Itachi was another adjective that he hadn't been before. Scary.

"I asked what _you _thought of him."

And he got closer. And closer. And even closer. And Sakura just backed up because he was making her uncomfortable and Sakura hated being uncomfortable especially if it was out of her control. And this was definitely out of her control. But she wasn't sure whether she liked it or loved it.

"I-Itachi-san?" she called unsurely.

"Well?" he asked, resting the palm of his hand just inches away from her head up against the wall behind her. Just why was her heart beating so fast? Why was her mouth so dry? Why was it suddenly so ridiculously hot in the once cool air conditioned room? And Gods, why was he smiling an oh-so-sexy smile right in her direction?

"I think-"

"Itachi, what are you doing?"

* * *

**A/N:** Whoohoo! Happy five years! Gosh I can't believe it's actually been this long. Haha I was fourteen and an awful writer. I still don't think I'm all that good but I've definitely improved! Practice makes perfect, right?

Now this is definitely a surprise. Usually when I start a new story the first chapter is very short and stuff. But with this one, I couldn't stop writing. I had to stop myself, haha! But yes! It is here! It has arrived and I love it! Already the suspense is building, it's mounting and it's glorious! Don't you love it?

Sorry for the cliffhanger, though. Yikes, that's pretty nerve wracking, huh? But I'll try my best to make the next chapters just as long. Stay with me on this one. I would love and appreciate any feedback you have to give me!

See you in chapter 2!

Krystal


	2. Substitute

Chapter 2—Substitute

With the summer being over, the students must now return to their classes to resume learning. This is no different for the current of third years of Konoha High School. But for them, the first day back was an exciting one for it meant they were that much closer to spring and that much closer to graduation. Signaling a change.

A change that Sakura was more than ready for. She had long since shed the color that labeled her as a junior. She, along with the rest of her class, evolved to the rich color of gold saved especially for those in the graduating class. And she would wear the gold tie and skirt proudly until graduation day.

So far things were going pretty well. The semester had started off nicely, she was getting along with most of her classmates and she and Sasuke had never been closer. Over the summer, they had spent time with each other a lot all thanks to her coming to his party. That's what really got things started, especially after the little laundry room encounter with his older brother Itachi.

* * *

"_I-Itachi-san?" she called unsurely._

"_Well?" he asked, resting the palm of his head just inches away from her head up against the wall behind her. Just why was her heart beating so fast? Why was her mouth so dry? Why was it suddenly so ridiculously hot in the once cool air conditioned room? And Gods, why was he smiling an oh-so-sexy smile right in her direction._

"_I think-"_

"_Itachi, what are you doing?" Sasuke interrupted from the door. Itachi turned his head slowly and gazed at his younger sibling with an uninterested glance before smiling slightly and straightening._

"_Ah Sasuke. I was asking Sakura-san a question." He replied. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the older man before looking at Sakura with an expression she had never seen on him before. Then he sighed before entering the room. He moved to stand between Sakura and Itachi, putting an effective distance between the two._

"_Mom needs your help with something." He said simply. Itachi seemed to be mulling over this statement in his head but it wasn't long before he nodded in agreement._

"_Does she, now? Hm, I guess I'll get my answer some other time. Right, Sakura-san?" with that, he was gone leaving a slightly glaring Sasuke and a still blushing Sakura alone in the laundry room. It was pretty silent aside from the sound of the washing machine humming in the background._

_With his back turned to her, Sakura used this time to gather her bearings. For some reason being around Itachi made her extremely nervous. She couldn't think of a reason why either. There was just something about him that was intimidating, untouchable, unreachable. He was way passed her level of comprehension. _

"_He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Sasuke asked as he half turned to Sakura. She jumped at the sound of his voice but hastily shook her head to his question. He hummed in agreement before fully turning to face her, his eyes quickly found hers leaving her a bit breathless._

"_Sakura," he called in an almost whisper. It was very uncharacteristic of him to even address her let alone in such a manner. Sakura's mind was in a frenzy at the way he was staring at her. His stare was unnerving, unsettling, and just outright uncomfortable._

"_Thank you for the shirt."_

* * *

And after that, well things just started falling into place. At random she'd seen Sasuke all over town. Once or twice they found themselves together just enjoying each other's company. Not necessarily getting to know one another but sort of like bonding. And even if he was silent the majority of the time, Sakura liked to think she knew him pretty well.

"Good morning Sasuke." She greeted with a warm smile. He returned the gesture with the tiniest of smiles and a less stiff nod. And that little action right there made Sakura's morning. So she took her seat in room with a beaming smile on her face, not as concerned with the glaring blond just rows behind her who had probably seen the entire scene.

The rest of the class filed in until the final bell tolled. It took the class a few minutes to start murmuring about their absent homeroom teacher.

"Where's Asuma-sensei?" was what most of them were uttering. Where was their gruff, cigarette smoking, bearded teacher at? It was time to begin homeroom wasn't it? Just as the noise was beginning to escalate andd the class was becoming increasingly rowdy, the door slid open and in walked Kakashi-sensei with an orange book in his hand.

"Yo!" he greeted as he took a spot at the podium near the front.

"What are you doing here Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked the question that everyone else was thinking.

"I have some news for you guys." Then there was a pause.

. . .

"Well?" the class chorused, impatient with his stalling.

"Right. You have a new homeroom teacher." He said. Suddenly, the class started chattering once more. "Settle down, now."

"What happened to Asuma-sensei?" Another asked.

"He's on maternity leave." Kakashi replied simply.

"How can a man be on maternity leave?" Naruto asked. The rest of the class was pretty much wondering the same thing. Sakura hummed to herself as she stared out the window with a contemplative glance. A new homeroom teacher, huh? It certainly was interesting. As was the fact that Asuma took a maternity leave.

"Ah well, that's an explanation for a different teacher." He laughed sheepishly. "Anyway, let's bring in your new teacher, hm?"

All was silent as the eyes of each student in the class were directed towards the door where it slid open once again. In stepped a man of tall stature dressed in dark slacks, clean pressed white shirt, grey vest with a dark red tie, long black as night hair styled into a low ponytail. He walked towards the front of the classroom silently, briefcase in his hand and authority laden in each step.

"Good morning class," a deep voice sounded leaving every female in the class breathless and every male fighting to compensate for something. "My name is Uchiha Itachi and I'll be standing in for Sarutobi-sensei."

Immediately the class erupted into a series of whispers, all of them centered around their new teacher, his looks, his name, his voice, his shoes, his everything. And he remained silent through it all, glasses clad eyes scanning the room with a calculating gaze as if he were analyzing every student curiously.

"I'll let you take it from here then." Kakashi spoke, giving Itachi a gently pat on the shoulder.

"Aa." And he left.

"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto called with a slightly loud whisper. "Why's your brother our teacher?"

"That's Sasuke-kun's brother?"

"Kyaa! He's so hot!"

"I see sexiness runs in the family."

And all Sakura could do was stare incredulous as his standing figure. Then his scrutinizing stare landed on her and she froze. His eyes were pitch black. They were smoldering and staring at her if he were delving into her soul. She flinched back and visibly shrank in her seat, choosing to look at anything but him. She didn't notice the smirk that appeared after she looked away.

"As stated before, I will be your temporary homeroom instructor for the duration of Sarutobi-sensei's absence." The sound of his baritone voice quickly silenced the hushed whispers fluttering about the classroom. All eyes were focused on the man before them, who stood erect in front of the podium with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are there any questions?" with a fine eyebrow raised, his dark eyes scanned the room full of students, lingering on Sasuke's pink haired friend a little longer than others. It was then that he caught a hand out of the corner of his eye and directed his attention to a girl seated in the third row. Gesturing for her to speak, he anticipated whatever nonsense would come out of her mouth.

"Are you single, sensei?" Teenage girls were so predictable. A sigh escaped his lips as he shuffled through some stray papers left on the podium. He soon discovered the seating chart with everyone's name scribbled messily in individual squares.

"Ah, Watanabe-san." He called, noticing her jerky reaction at his calling of her name. Everyone in the class looked completely thrown off by such a personal inquiry but he could see it in nearly all the eyes of the females that they too wished to know the answer.

"I am." It seemed as if a large weight had been lifted from their chests for as soon as he uttered those two words, practically every girl in the room sighed in relief and started chattering amongst themselves. He merely shook his head with a small smile gracing his lips, chancing a glance at his younger brother who seemed to disapprove of his honest to God answer.

And to be dreadfully honest Sasuke wasn't all that happy about Itachi being honest. In fact he wasn't too thrilled about him being the new homeroom teacher either. To take things a step further he didn't even want his older brother anywhere near his school. Not just because it was weird but because school was kinda_sorta_ his own space. His only domain where he felt like he had some, if not a little, control over his life.

Leave it to Itachi to a pull the rug up from under him by taking away his own paradise of normalcy. It was his sole purpose in life, or so it seemed. The younger Uchiha was left in a sour mood, even more so than usual, with his head propped up and eyes glaring fiery holes of death in the window next to his desk.

Sakura on the other hand hadn't even looked up from her desk since she caught eyes with Sasuke's brother. In fact she had been so focused on the surface below that she noticed it wasn't even the desk she had been sitting at yesterday. Her desk had a little drawing of a heart in the top left hand corner that she had drawn a few days ago. This desk was completely bare aside from a few smudges from an eraser.

So what in the world happened to her desk?

"Haruno."

She worked pretty darn hard on that little heart, erased it like five times before she was finally satisfied with it.

"Haruno."

And just who in the world would take her desk anyway? It was her desk. Weren't there plenty of other desks to take?

"Haruno Sakura."

Maybe it got mixed up during lunch or—

"Haruno!" Sakura all but jumped right out her seat at the sound of something smacking against the surface of her new desk rather hard. Heart threatening to burst right out of her chest, she lifted her gaze to see her new sensei standing before her with a hand firmly planted on her desk while he stared at her, amusement swimming in pools of onyx.

"A-ah! Hai!" she stammered, embarrassed at being caught off guard and having her mind drift off so easily. She tried to ignore the fact that everyone was staring and snickering at her especially Ino who couldn't stop that snort she called a laugh. And she prayed to God that Sasuke hadn't noticed what happened.

It would be just her luck that as soon as she and her crush had found some common ground that he discover how big of an airhead she could be. Like having the prince fall in love with you only for him to realize that you're not really a princess, you're a servant and little mice and birds make clothes for you. Ok, maybe not _exactly _like that but it was pretty close.

"Hn." He grunted with a satisfied smirk before pivoting on his heel and moving back to the front of the room.

"Hozuki."

"Hai."

* * *

Lunch time came promptly along with what seemed like Sakura's 100th sigh of the day. She still couldn't get over how badly she had embarrassed herself and in front of Sasuke no less. She peered at the boy silently and smiled a bit.

He was talking, more like arguing, with Naruto probably about whose turn it was to pay for bread. She watched as he stood, gave the blond a good push while thrusting a couple coins in his hands and watching him dash away with frustration in his eyes. Sasuke's form relaxed as he leaned back against his desk, arms crossed over his chest.

'_He's just so cool.'_ She gushed mentally. It was rare that she ever saw this Sasuke. The unguarded Sasuke that was kind of aloof, a tad nonchalant and borderline Shikamaru-like. He looked relaxed, less tense, and almost free.

It was this side of Sasuke that she appreciated the most.

"Sasuke-kun!" And she had Ino and the rest of his fangirls to thank for hardly ever seeing it. Said blonde made her presence known by slamming the door open and walking over to the Uchiha with confident strides. She stopped before him, hands clasped innocently behind her back and blue eyes peering up at him with doe-like characteristics.

"Ne," she started, voice sickeningly sweet. "Want to eat lunch with me?" it was nothing short of a daily routine for the blonde haired blue eyed beauty and the rest of the girls after the Uchiha's affections. In fact, Sakura almost swore they took turns on who was going to invite Sasuke to eat lunch with them. Even girls from other classes and years would travel the distance just for a chance to ask him.

And the answer was always the same.

"No thanks." And even though Sakura knew that he would inevitably turn her down, she yearned for that blind confidence to take a chance and ask him herself. Because part of her believed that Sasuke would say yes. But the more rational side her brain knew for a fact that Sasuke didn't think of her in that way and she was a fool to believe that he did.

Meeting up a couple of times wasn't the equivalent to years of friendship. She could barely call them friends to begin with. Maybe she was selling herself a little short, but she liked to consider any and all realistic options.

"Hey everyone," the class representative called their attention. Nara Shikamaru, class rep by default stood lazily up at the front of the room with a sheet clutched in his hand, scratching the back on his head with the other.

"The sports' festival is coming up." That immediately got everyone talking. The annual sports' festival was the time where class rivalries were settled once in for all with the use of tournament style matches between all the classes. The class with the most victories always got the best prizes like yearlong coupons to local restaurants, or free karaoke. Everyone, even the unathletic people, looked forward to the sports festival.

"Here's the sign-up. Pick whatever you want." With that, he stamped the sheet on the blackboard and shuffled back to his desk and people already began scrambling to get up there to mark their name underneath their preferred sport.

Sakura only excelled in two sports: volleyball and soccer and that was only because she could spike and kick the ball great distances. She didn't really have any exceptional skills other than that, but she figured she was a pretty good asset to the team.

"Eh? The sports festival? I've been waiting all year for this!" Naruto exclaimed as he burst into the room, sack full of bread. He easily pushed his way through the crowd in order to scribble his name on every sport for boys before bounding over to where Sasuke sat, dropping the sack on his desk.

"Aren't you going to sign up?" the blond asked, planting his behind on the adjacent desk with digging into the plastic wrapped bread. Sasuke merely shrugged, searching through the bag for his requested items.

"Later." He replied, leaning back and unwrapping his lunch at the same time. Naruto gave him a slight glare before humming to himself lightly.

"Heh," his blue eyes drifted away and fell on Sakura's lone form, eating her lunch quietly.

"Sakura-chan! Come eat with us!" he waved her over, bits of bread popping out of his mouth. Sakura looked up from her section of rice to see Naruto's hand ushering towards him and Sasuke while the latter merely regarded her with a second long glance of curiousity.

And she smiled because even if Naruto could be annoying at times it was mostly thanks to him that she was able to get as close to Sasuke as she had been recently.

The conversation started off smoothly, mostly revolving around Naruto and Sakura and their separate lives. Sasuke piped in every now and again to which Sakura gave her undivided attention. Of course, she paid attention to Naruto even if it was rather hard not to. She didn't want to seem like one of those girls who believed Sasuke was the only man in the world. Because in reality, she thought Naruto had a larger gravitational pull than Sasuke. He was like the sun and people, whether they wanted to or not, were naturally drawn to him.

And Sasuke, well he was like the moon. Kind of mysterious, quiet and calm, yet there was something about it, something so serene that caused you stare up at it every once in a while just to see if it was still there.

"Man I'm still hungry." Naruto groaned, clutching his stomach miserably. Sasuke grunted from beside him, gazing at all the empty bread packages that littered his desk. And Sakura could only watch, annoyed at the way Naruto kept stealing glances at her unfinished lunch.

"Here," she grumbled, sliding the box in his direction with the chopsticks lying on top. His face visibly brightened at her offer before bowing and quickly digging into the lunch. She shook her head at his antics as a small smile came across her face.

"All that bread's not good for you anyway." She said, rather disgusted at the amount he consumed as well at the way he was devouring her poor meal.

"You either Sasuke." At the sound of his name, he looked at her silently. He was gaze was a pondering one as if he were trying to figure her out. And he was, sort of. Just what was she getting at? She had to be up to something. Girls were almost always up to something.

"What else are we supposed to eat?" Naruto asked with a laugh, finished with the meal. He slid it back in her direction before wiping his mouth off with his sleeve.

"Don't they sell other foods?" she asked. She had never been to the food vender before. For years, her mother had packed her lunch until she was old enough to make her own.

"Not everything the old lady sells is edible, Sakura." Sasuke reprimanded.

"I see," she visibly shrank in her seat before a bright idea formed in her mind. It was risky, but with Naruto's involuntary help, she just might be able to pull it off.

"I could, well maybe I could make you guys…uh some lunches?" the offer came out weird and she cursed herself for not choosing her words wisely. She knew the blond would agree hands down but maybe just maybe his enthusiasm would annoy Sasuke into agreeing as well.

"You know, so you wouldn't have to eat bread all the time!" she quickly corrected herself. But part of her was regretting even saying something about it in the first place.

"You'd do that?" he asked, excitedly.

"Y-yeah." She replied, packing up her empty lunch while stealing a glance at the brooding Uchiha.

"Sign me up! I'd eat one of your lunches any day!" he declared, shooting his thumb in the air.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

"Ah, come on you bastard. Even you can't pass this up." Naruto smacked him on the chest playfully, to which Sasuke glared and brushed his persistent hand away. And Sakura was forced to wait with baited breath while the dark haired boy seemed to be staring off at nothing.

"It's free food!"

Was he going to say yes? No? Was he going to laugh her to scorn? Highly unlikely but still a plausible scenario. She couldn't take the suspense.

"It's better than bread." Sakura grinned. She supposed that was as much of an answer as she was going to get out of him. And she was strangely satisfied with just that.

"Good. I'm glad."

* * *

**A/N:** Was this long enough for you? I'm going to try to make the chapters in this story pretty long. I have it all mapped out so the plot won't be choppy like my previous stories.

So what'd you think? Not much Itachi in this chapter. Do not fret! For his amazingness shall make an appearance next time! Shikamaru was introduced today as well as Watanabe Ami. Did I miss anyone? Hope not.

Thanks goes to: **SincerelyAnn, mishy1, NorthernLights1239, **and **Bishie Huntress who has agreed to be my Beta! **

I appreciate your appreciation of my story and shall use your appreciation as motivation. Thanks so much! See you in chapter three!

Krystal


	3. Secret

Chapter Three—Secret

Sakura was nervous. Why? Well, it was her very first day of bringing special packed lunches for Naruto and Sasuke. She wanted everything to be just right. Not a single grain of freshly cooked rice could be out of place for a number of reasons, but only one was running through her mind at that moment. And that obvious reason was that Sasuke would be eating her food. The food that she cooked especially for him to eat wholeheartedly.

She was going to make herself sick with worry if she kept thinking about. _'Think other thoughts, Sakura. Think about Naruto and how he's always praised your cooking. Think about the upcoming Sport's Festival and how awesome it would be if the class actually won. Think about the grand prize and what it could possibly be. Think about—'_

"Why is your lunch so big Sakura?"

_'How your mother just reminded of why you were nervous.'_ Sakura sighed, stacking the boxes on top of each other and wrapping them in a very large, neutral colored handkerchief.

"I'm just packing for a couple friends, that's all." She shrugged, double knotting the hanky and pulling the large bundle off the counter. Her mother eyed her with a cocked eyebrow and narrowed glance. She watched Sakura moved across the length of the kitchen and into the hall where she crouched to put her shoes on, grabbing her school bag in the process.

"A couple friends huh?" she said to herself quietly, waving silently as Sakura shouted of her departure.

Sakura had a feeling that her mother would be a little suspicious of the large amount of ingredients that would be disappearing in the coming weeks. And who could blame her? She did, after all, purchase everything that went into Sakura's lunch. She had every right to be wary of the situation. Still, it wasn't like she was committing a crime, or being bullied into doing it. She was performing a service for her peers.

And one upping whatever competition she had for Sasuke's affections.

But that was beside the point, was what she had to keep reminding herself. She was doing this for Naruto, too. _'Yeah, it's not just for Sasuke. It's for Naruto _and_Sasuke.'_ Her crazy inner self had a tendency of giving Sasuke extra attention.

"Good morning, Sasuke." She beamed at the boy meeting him at the doors just as he was trading out his shoes. He turned to her, eyes blank and hands poised to put his loafers away. He gave her a nod with a slight upturn of his lips before turning back to his current task, leaving Sakura to retreat to her own locker and do the same.

They ended up meeting in the foyer where several students were conversing amongst each other, buying drinks from the nearby machine, or just sitting against the walls trying to get some sleep. Sakura sidled up beside Sasuke on his left, joining him in a silent walk to class.

To be honest, she didn't really mind the silence, even if it did make her a bit anxious. At times, she found herself not knowing how to act around Sasuke. She considered herself to be kind of outgoing and talkative. On a good day, she talked almost as much as Naruto. So being around someone who hardly spoke made her choose her words carefully.

"So, ah..." Not that carefully. "What sports did you sign up for?" That seemed like a fair topic. Sasuke had always been active, even back in Junior High.

"The usual. Basketball, soccer, and baseball." There was a silent pause, his eyes narrowing at something ahead of them as they mounted the stairs. He then gave his attention to her, gesturing for her to give her answer.

"Oh! I'm doing volleyball, and soccer, too!" She smiled.

"No softball?" he asked, eyebrow arched. She mentally froze. Sasuke was actually making conversation. Like asking her questions instead of just answering and giving one word responses. She was at a loss for words!

"S-softball?" Get it together, ol' girl! "Uh, my aim is terrible." She blushed, adjusting her grip on her school bag. It was naturally heavier than normal, though she tried not to let it show.

"Terrible aim, huh?" He smirked. Did he think she was lying?

"Uh, yeah. I can never throw it straight. It always goes in some weird direction, like the opposite of where I want it to go and-" Oh Gods, she was doing it again. She was spewing out words like vomit because she was nervous. Just when she thought things were looking up for her, her insecurities had to make themselves known.

But surprisingly, Sasuke didn't seem all that deterred by her ramblings. In fact he was kind of smiling, if she squinted a bit.

"Your aim seems fine to me." And that's when they happened upon their classroom up on the third floor where he slid the door open. Sakura was frozen, both mentally and physically, at his previous statement. Just what in the heck did that mean? Her aim seemed fine, how? Fine as in…did he know she was aiming for his heart? That she was a closet fangirl? That she could be just as bad as Ino and the others?

"Huh?" It came out automatically without her thinking. It was at her questioning that he turned to her with a half grin, standing in front of the open door with his fingers still on the handle.

"It's perfect whenever the idiot says something stupid." And then he disappeared into the nearly vacant classroom, leaving the pinkette in a state of shock. On the inside, little Sakura was bouncing all over the walls shouting chants of victory and sheer happiness. On the outside, the real Sakura was blushing like someone had seen her naked. And not the bad kind of naked either. The kind of naked where you're just in your underclothes and someone caught a glimpse of your back.

_That_ kind of naked.

Sakura walked into class, sparing Sasuke a couple of glances before finding her seat and finally giving her hands a rest from the blasted school bag. She heaved a sigh while adjusting her blazer so she could get comfortable. The room was pretty quiet, save for a couple people talking and noises flooding in from the hall.

All that changed when Naruto opened the door, practically dragging his limp body across the length of the room. His head hung low, surprisingly dull blonde strands barely bouncing as he went. Every step looked labored and taxing as if it was a real chore getting to his chair. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally plopped down in his seat loudly, head crashing down on the desk.

"Ugh," he groaned, bottom lip dragging across the surface as he lifted his head a bit. "I'so tired." His words slurred together while blue eyes closed slowly. Sasuke scoffed from beside him, fighting the urge to kick Naruto's chair out from under him.

"What happened to you?" Sasuke decided to humor the poor soul and take a chance at asking him just what was wrong with him.

"Our neighbors got a new dog and the thing wouldn't stop yappin' all night!" he exclaimed, sitting up. His eyes were visibly bloodshot and had the look of absolute weariness.

"Sounds rough," Sasuke commented, clearly enjoying Naruto's pain.

"You're telling me," Naruto muttered in response. "Say bastard..."

And Sasuke prepared himself for whatever Naruto had to say.

"You should let me stay ov-"

"No way."

"Ah, come on!"

* * *

Sakura was caught in a rut. She couldn't decide what, exactly, was the best highlight of her day. Her earlier conversation with Sasuke or giving them their lunches. It was a tough decision for one solid reason.

The latter hadn't happened yet.

She was stuck in a mind numbing physics lecture, but all she could think about were those dreaded lunches that were burning a hole in her bag. She was supposed to be focusing on the lesson, not letting her mind get sidetracked by some rice and a couple eggs. Granted, those weren't the only things she had packed, but whatever.

"Stand. Bow. Good work today, everyone." Yes! Finally! The lesson was over and it was now lunch time.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the wait was finally over. But a small part of her wanted more time to prepare. More time to make sure everything went just as planned. More time to freak out about how her crush was going eat food she had cooked for the very first time.

What if he didn't like it? What if he choked on it? What if he had an allergic reaction? What if it made him sick? What if—

"Hey Sakura-chan, did you make us lunches today?" Naruto interrupted her pessimistic thoughts with his somewhat happy expression. He had gotten a couple catnaps in between classes, and his happy-go-lucky attitude had sort of revived itself since the early morning.

"Yeah, they're right here." Her smile was a little forced as she reached into her bag, pulled out the lunches, and unwrapped them with nervous hands. Her teeth bit into her bottom lip while shaky fingers wrapped around the handkerchief as it fell to the table, revealing three neatly stacked boxes.

"Awesome! I call dibs on the top one!" Naruto exclaimed, taking the box in his large hands. He then rotated the seat in front of Sakura's, sharing a desk with her as he dug into the food.

"Hey! Come get your lunch, Sasuke, or I'll eat it for you!"

A sigh escaped Sasuke's lips at the sounds of Naruto's call. He had just put away his notebook, so he stood from his seat, heading over to where Naruto sat across from Sakura. The blonde was already a quarter of the way done with his lunch, shoveling bits of food into his mouth like dirt. The sight was repulsive, causing both Sasuke and Sakura to recoil in their spots. It took a few seconds for the other boy to realize just how unpleasant he was being before he straightened and started eating a little more politely.

"Here, Sasuke!" Sakura suddenly thrust the lunch into Sasuke's unsuspecting hands, slightly startling him. Looking down, he noticed the nicely packed meal before taking it in his hands, giving her a silent look. She visibly jumped the moment he started looking at her before glancing away and eating her own food.

_'Strange,'_ he thought. Sakura always acted nervous around him for some reason. He didn't really understand her. Heck, he didn't really understand any girl his age. But Sakura wasn't like the other girls in his class. She was kind of different. She never asked him weird questions or tried to hug him. If anything, she acted like she was afraid of him, terrified even. It was a little unnerving, if he was honest.

What if Sakura _was_ afraid of him?

"You just gonna stare at it all day?" Naruto asked with a questioning glance. It was true that he hadn't moved since accepting the lunch and this only served to fuel Sakura's shaky nerves. She tried to busy herself with eating her own lunch, but having him standing right next to her desk doing absolutely nothing but staring at the food like it was alive quickly cancelled any easy thoughts going through her mind.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, leaned on the desk adjacent to Sakura's and just started eating. There was no hesitance in his movements. And he ate silently, giving each bite individual chews and swallowing before reaching down for another portion. The way he ate was like an art and Sakura was too wrapped up in watching between her own bites to actually pay attention to the fact that he hadn't stopped eating. Not once.

It wasn't until both boxes were completely empty that she really focused on her own lunch. She had barely touched her food and suddenly found herself to be a bit thirsty. Naruto and Sasuke were talking amongst themselves about something and didn't seem to be giving her much attention. Not that she minded, they were very good friends, after all.

"Hey," she quietly interrupted them. "I'm going to get a drink. You two want one?" Naruto declined, saying he didn't really care for any of the drinks in the machine, but Sasuke nodded, requesting a tea. He began to reach in his pocket for the coins when she stopped him.

"Ah, you don't have to-"

"Take it," he said.

"No, it's ok. I've got it this time." She left before he could force her to take his money. Sasuke watched with narrowed eyes as she weaved her way around the desks of the class and left the room. What in the world was that? First she acted like she was all nervous around him, then she outwardly rejected his money. Just who did she think she was?

"What's with her?" he grumbled.

"Who? Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in response to Sasuke's obvious irritation. "She never takes money from people."

"Why?" A shrug was all he got from the boy before it turned into a much needed stretch and yawn combination, resulting in him positioning himself for yet another nap. Sasuke scoffed, poking his friend with his foot, still a bit put off by Sakura.

* * *

"I got it!" frequently rang throughout the gym while shoes scuffed and scurried across the floor, all eyes focused on the rubber ball that soared through the air with each hit. Sakura planted her feet firmly on the ground before letting the ball smack across her forearms and into the setting hands of Ino who used her fingertips to elevate it towards the last person who smacked it across the net.

It was after school and their class currently had access to the gym in order to practice for the festival. The girls had one half for volleyball while boys used the other half for basketball. Most of them were on the floor working up a sweat while the few who had opted out were left on the bleachers to watch and provide drinks and encouragement.

Among those few was Watanabe Ami. Her eyes were mostly centered around Sasuke and the rest of the boys playing basketball. It was one of the many reasons why she chose not to participate in the festival but to instead just be a spectator, and a happy one at that. Still, she couldn't help but spare a glance at the girl's side, specifically at Sakura.

At the beginning of the school year she'd hardly paid any attention to the girl, vaguely remembering her as the geeky book worm from Junior High. It wasn't until after summer break that she started noticing her, and boy did she ever become an eyesore. She was always in Sasuke's face talking about something stupid. She even had the nerve to force her nasty lunch on him, and poor Sasuke had to eat every last disgusting bite.

It was disgusting, watching her get all buddy-buddy with him. But what was even more annoying was the fact that goody Sakura acted like she was better than everybody, just because she was smart. So what.

"She's so full of it," Ami sneered from the bleachers. A few girls sitting a row back heard but remained silent as she continued to rant.

"You know, she made Sasuke-kun a lunch." The girls gasped, acting surprised and looking a bit threatened. They gave each other nervous looks before moving down to sit next to Ami.

"Did she really? I thought it was just a rumor!" one of the girls exclaimed.

"Yep. She made one for Uzumaki, too."

"Just who does she think she is?" another girl said. All three of them made it a point to stare at Sakura throughout practice, practically sending daggers into her back with their heated glances. But the girl seemed unfazed, which only seemed to fuel their anger even more. They were angry for reasons even they couldn't explain. But one thing rang true.

Haruno Sakura was becoming a threat.

A fifteen minute break was called, signaling everyone to rest up a bit before practice continued. All the girls scrambled off the court, kneepads at their ankles, reaching for water bottles and towels to clean themselves off with. The boy remained, ever stubborn and eager to keep practicing, going even without a break.

Currently running some scrimmages, the boys were taking turns figuring out who would be most effective and where. Their team wasn't meshing together all that well due to how mix-matched it was. The people in the basketball club were few in number, so those in other activities had to compensate for empty positions. Even after all the positions were filled, the plans were rough and imbalanced. And Sasuke was getting a little frustrated.

"Shikamaru," he called. Said boy looked up from his position under the goal before passing the ball to a guy waiting at the free throw line.

"Hm?" he answered quietly.

"What happened to those new plays you drew up?" the Uchiha asked, wiping lingering sweat that dared to trickle down the side of his face. Shikamaru caught the descending ball, bounced it a few times, and passed back to the free throw line before replying.

"They're in my desk," was his answer. The Nara didn't really like the way the conversation was headed. He didn't even like that the Uchiha was talking to him, nor the way he was staring at him.

"Go get them." He especially didn't like the way he ordered him around.

"Do you know how far that is? It's all the way on the other side of the building," he complained, while Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Go get one of the girls to do it."

Realizing that the conversation was little more than useless, he brushed off the lazy boy and quickly scanned the group of girls chatting amongst themselves. He quietly ignored all the catcalls once they noticed he had focused his attention on them. Why was he even bothering with asking them, anyway? Knowing this group, they'd take it the wrong way and somehow twist the request around into a ridiculous scenario.

He sighed, ready to give up, before he spotted Sakura sitting a little ways away from the bulk of the group, emptying the contents of her bottle before standing. She looked like she was leaving, possibly to refill it.

"Sakura!" he called. Hearing her name, she turned her head, looking for the face to match the voice and was thoroughly surprise when she discovered just who it was. Sasuke waved her over and nearly groaned when she started looking around as if he were talking to someone else.

"Yeah?" she answered once she was within hearing distance.

"Shikamaru left the new plays in his desk. Can you get them?" he asked. Her green eyes widened slightly before red brushed her cheeks and she smiled a bit.

"Uh yeah, sure." He nodded his thanks, watching with a frown as she went. With that latest encounter, he was a little more convince that Sakura was scared of him. But what he didn't understand was why. Why would someone be afraid of him? He could be a little intimidating at times, but it was rarely on purpose. It was mostly due to the fact that he didn't care for a lot of things. No reason to be afraid of him.

Just the thought of her being afraid of him for that reason was very unsettling.

* * *

Sakura couldn't tell whether her heart was beating from practice or from Sasuke asking her do something. She wanted to pretend it was from practice but didn't want to be biased.

"He asked me to do it. Out of everyone in the class, he asked me! Me! That's got to count for something!" she said to herself with a bright smile on her face. She couldn't help it. It was like a breakthrough. They were doing each other favors. Well, she was doing him favors, but it was a step closer to friendship, regardless. And it made her all kinds of happy. She was even humming a tune and practically skipping down the hallway.

She quickly reached the classroom and slid open the door with unfathomable happiness before sauntering inside in hopes of obtaining the playbook Sasuke asked for.

"Now where does Shikamaru sit…?"

"Who's in here?" a deep voice barreled, causing Sakura to jump and nearly trip over her own two feet. Once she righted herself, surprised eyes fell on none other than her homeroom teacher standing in the doorway, watching her with intrigued eyes.

"Uchiha…sensei," she breathed out, steadying her racing heart. He smiled and stepped inside, leaving the door ajar, and Sakura suddenly felt her previous happiness float away, giving way to another bout with anxiety.

"Ah Haruno-san," he started. "Or would you prefer Sakura-san, seeing as we are formerly acquainted?"

"Uh, no! H-Haruno is fine!" she replied, noticing how he was getting closer to her. Her hair was standing on end from the way he was staring at her and she wasn't enjoying it.

"Oh? How interesting." He stroked his chin thoughtfully before pivoting on his heel as if taking his leave. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived as he half turned, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Shall we continue our conversation then, Haruno-san?"

"Our conversation?" She was clearly confused as to what he was referring to.

"You have forgotten. What a shame. Need I refreshing your memory?" He was once again walking closer to her. Sakura had to literally feel around the desks as she backed up, just to make sure she didn't trip. She felt like one of those helpless animals in the jungle being pursued by a ruthless beast ready to devour her.

"Ah- Sensei! I just need Shikamaru's playbook! So if I could just-" She laughed nervously, working her way around his approaching figure to get anywhere but where she had been previously. But somehow she hadn't anticipated what happened next. She was trapped between his arms with a desk behind her and no way of escaping.

"If I recall correctly, it went a little something like this." He paused, eyes gazing at her from over the top of his frames, smoldering dark grey and mysterious.

"Sasuke, what do you think of him?" Oh so that's what he meant by conversation. Of course she had forgotten all about that. It was nearly a whole month ago! Why was he bringing this up again? Did it really matter what she thought of Sasuke? Well, she supposed it did matter, but why did he care?

"Why?" she dared ask.

"Hm?" He seemed a little surprised that she'd answered his question with a question of her own.

"Why..." She hesitated, looking down at her shoes. "Why does it matter what I think?" Oh gods, what did she just do? This was her sensei she was talking to, not some random kid or guy. Her freaking sensei!_ 'Oh, Sakura, you have to be crazy!'_

"You care for him, don't you?" _'What?'_

"I—! How'd you-!"

"Haruno! What's taking so long? Sasuke-kun wanted that playbook over five min—Oh! Uchiha-sensei! I didn't know you were still here!" Ami suddenly burst into the classroom, her cries filling the room until she saw Itachi, who had somehow removed himself from Sakura's personal space to a spot halfway across the room. Sakura didn't even see him move.

"Yes, I'm assisting Haruno-san in her search." He replied with a polite smile.

"Really? Sensei is so nice, helping Haruno-san." Ami beamed, batting her eyelashes prettily. Sakura stood there awkwardly, trying to figure what just happened and what she should do next.

"Aa. This is it, correct?" In his hands, Itachi held a black composition notebook with Shikamaru's name scribbled across the front. When did he get that?

"Ah, uh... y-yeah. Thanks." With hesitance in her movements, Sakura took the notebook from Itachi and quietly scooted past him and towards the door.

"Come on, Haruno! Everyone's waiting!" Ami urged, forcing a smile and slinging an arm around Sakura's shoulders.

"Right," Sakura replied unsurely.

"Bye, Uchiha-sensei!" Ami called. Itachi just waved and smirked when Sakura chanced a glance back at him. She gulped before she was suddenly pushed forward, fighting to stay balanced.

"Just what in the hell was that?" Ami yelled suddenly as they walked down the hallway.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, both surprised and confused.

"It's bad enough Sasuke-kun pays as much attention to you as he does, now you're trying to get his brother, too? How shameless," she scolded, glare full on and directed at the pinkette.

"H-huh? What are you talking about?" Sakura shot back, eyebrows furrowed and mouth set in a firm line.

"Don't try to act innocent." Ami brushed past Sakura, shaking her head like she was disappointed.

"But-!"

"Hurry up! You've already been too long!" Sakura grumbled and followed unenthusiastically behind the girl, stomping all the while.

* * *

That night found Sakura finally finding time to relax in a nice, hot bath. Sighing contently, she sank deep into the waters with her nose just above the surface. It had been a really long day and this bath was just what she needed to relieve herself from any stress she had put upon herself by just being overly worried. And it didn't help that other people had added onto her stress.

Like Uchiha-sensei.

"How'd he know I like Sasuke? Am I being too obvious?" she asked herself. It was unsettling, if she really thought about it. Itachi somehow knew that she had a crush on Sasuke. She had never told anyone about her feelings for him, not even her own mother. So how'd he find out?

He was dangerous. He had managed to find out her biggest secret and he hadn't even known her for more than a day"Sakura! Don't stay in the bath too long!" her mother called.

"Ok mom!" It was an automatic reply, as her mind was still wrapped around Itachi. What if he told Sasuke about her feelings? As far as she knew, Sasuke didn't know about her crush. Itachi could ruin everything she had been working for!

"Oh! This sucks!" she exclaimed, fully immersing herself in the water.

* * *

**A/N: **Whoo! This was a long one, huh? Hope it wasn't boring with all the descriptions and stuff. It's a bit of a challenge having chapters this long but I see it as a way of growing. What do you guys think? Ah I'm rambling.

In this chapter Naruto and Sasuke get their specially made lunches by Sakura and all seems well! They ate every last bite! Also we get to hear more from Miss Watanabe! What does her presence mean? Will she be a recurring road block for our dear Sakura-chan? Oh and what's this? Sasuke is asking Sakura for a favor? Breakthrough! But then Itachi just had to go and make nervous again. That guy spells nothing but trouble.

Thanks go to: **TeenageCrisis, Lady Lauren, Phelin, sasusaku3623649, NorthernLights1239, and my wonderful beta Bishie Huntress!**

Next chapter will be out sometime next week! Bank on that! See you in chapter four!

Krystal


	4. Magic

Chapter Four—Magic

The next day was cloudy, filled with fluffy gray clouds bringing the promise of rain. A cool autumn wind swept by Sakura on her way to school that morning, steps sluggish and labored with fatigue. She had woken up a bit out of sorts but the feeling went away as the morning continued. But just having the air continuously brushing up against her face was making her a bit congested. It wasn't until a tickling sensation formed in her nose that she realized something might be wrong.

She wasn't getting sick, was she?

'_That's the last thing I need.'_ She thought to herself, entering through the school gates and walking through the door. She quickly exchanged shoes and made her way to homeroom. The climb to the third floor was already a long one, but today it seemed to go on forever. By the time she made it up the second flight, her legs were like jello. After what seemed like an eternity she made to the top looking, and feeling, very winded.

"Sakura-chan!" a loud voice called from behind. There stood Naruto at the bottom of the last flight, waving and looking like his normal energetic self. He quickly mounted the stairs, skipping a few, to stand at the top with her.

"Hey Naruto." She replied with a smile.

"Whoa, you look awful." He confessed. Sakura twitched in annoyance.

"Are you sick or something?" he questioned, peering down at her with narrowed eyes. His gaze was a curious one, roaming the length of her face, her stance and the state of her clothes. He straightened at the sound of her slightly growling at him.

"I'm fine. Let's go to class." She said with a fake smile. But as much as she wanted to believe she was, she was beginning to believe that she wasn't. The back of her throat was starting to itch and that sensation in her nose was rearing its ugly head again. Naruto seemed to accept her answer with a shrug and smile. That's when Sakura noticed that he looked pretty well rested compared to yesterday.

"You don't look tired today. What happened with your neighbor's dog?" she asked.

"Hmm? I don't really know. I didn't hear a peep out of him last night." He, too, wondered what happened to the barking mutt. A hand stroked his chin as he became lost in his own thoughts. Sakura scoffed lightly before opening the door and stepping inside with Naruto right behind her.

Already the classroom was half full with mostly everyone in their seats and a few others standing at the front, talking. Sakura's eyes automatically fell onto Sasuke's desk where he was seated silently with his mobile in his hand. She smiled, thinking about yesterday, and held her bag just a little tighter hoping he'd enjoy today's lunch.

"Good morn—achoo!" Well that was a surprise. Sakura sniffed but then stiffened once she realized what happened. She dared look up from her hunched position to see Sasuke's eyes focused on a particular spot on his desk that was covered in her sneeze spit.

"Ah! I-I'm so sorry!" she gushed, frantically rummaging through her bag for something, anything, to clean up the mess. She was too engrossed in her search to see the uneasiness dancing across Sasuke's features at the sight of her fussing. So she sneezed on his desk, big deal. Was she expecting him to go ballistic and call her horrid names? To go on a rampage about how utterly disgusting she was and that she should never speak to him again?

Apparently so.

"Ew, Sakura germs!" Naruto crooned playfully. But Sakura was anything but happy and having him of all people tease her was especially aggravating. She growled and thrust her elbow into his ribs. He groaned, bending over to nurse his sore chest while his laughter died down into strained coughs.

Feeling as if she had humiliated herself enough for one day, Sakura shuffled away from Sasuke's desk with her head held down and dirty hanky in hand. She plopped down in her seat and sighed, tossing the dirty cloth onto her desk in defeat. It seemed that no matter how much progress she made, something always seemed to ruin it. This time it was a sneeze.

"Nice going, forehead." Ino called from a few rows behind. There was a satisfied smirk plastered on her face at seeing Sakura make a fool of herself. And she couldn't blame her. She looked like an idiot in front of Sasuke. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had said something. Even if it was just a grunt, she would feel just a bit better. But he was completely silent. He probably had a million thoughts running through his mind, them all centered on how much of a loser she was. Yes, her life was ruined by a simple sneeze.

And her desk was ruined by another one. And another one. And another one. It wasn't until the fifth sneeze that Sakura was convinced that maybe, perhaps, there was a chance that she was sick. And that really sucked because being sick was no fun especially since the festival was so close and their class had practices scheduled for the entire week.

"Great." She groaned, her head falling to her desk. The final bell tolled and in came the rest of their class along with Uchiha-sensei who closed the door behind him. He took his place up at the podium and began to call roll, his eyes scanning the room in the meantime.

"Good morning class." He called.

"Good morning Uchiha-sensei." They replied.

His eyes first fell on his younger brother who was staring out the window with a half frown half scowl on his face, slightly disgruntled at something. Next they drifted to the blond boy next to him who was busy balancing a pencil on his nose. They then drifted about the room, landing on a few students before he continued with his role call, falling on the 'H's'.

"Haruno." He called.

"Hai." She replied in a quiet whisper.

"Speak up." He called. It was then that he looked and saw her eyebrows scrunched up as she cleared her throat a bit. She didn't look at all flustered like she normal did when he corrected her in class. In fact, she didn't seem to be all that focused either.

"Hai!" it was a little louder but her voice sounded forced. Not only that, she hadn't even looked up at him. Something wasn't right with her today. He made a note to keep an eye of her for the duration of homeroom.

So he sat silently with a book in his hands as Shikamaru stood to give information about the festival, all the while peering over his page at the pinkette. A handkerchief was in her hand and held up to her nose as a bout of sneezes racked her frame. So she was ill. He hummed to himself while turning the page; the cogs in his brain already turning at the recent development.

The rest of the day just seemed to drag on for Sakura. Especially that grueling math lesson. Ebisu-sensei just couldn't stay focused on one topic, going off on tangents about logarithms and other things that just made her head throb. She wanted to throttle the man for lots of reasons, one of them being his wearing sunglasses indoors and that was just annoying.

But finally, classes were over. The only thing left to do was clean up the classroom. Everyone shuffled around, piling up desks for sweeping, getting rags to clean off the boards. And just her luck, it was her day to take out the trash. Fate must be having a field day with her life.

She let out a quick cough to soothe her irritated throat before taking up the bin in her arms and bounding out the door. The trash room just so happened to be all the way down the south end of the hall where the opposite staircase was. She was not looking forward to this walk at all.

"Haruno-san," someone called just as she began her trek. She turned to see Uchiha-sensei standing a couple feet behind her and her heart suddenly jumped in her throat. Ever since their recent encounter she had been praying that he would just ignore her for the rest of the time that he'd be subbing. Fate hated her and her prayers were answered with a stern 'No way!'

"Yes?" she called quietly. He stepped towards her with long strides and gently pried the bin out of her hands, sitting it on the floor. She made no effort to fight for it, only staring in surprise at his boldness.

"I'll get someone else to empty the trash. Go visit the infirmary." He advised. And Sakura was surprised. For once, that mysterious aura that usually floated around him wasn't there. His eyes were stern, his mouth in a line, and posture straight. He was actually serious.

"But it's my-" she started, reaching for the bin again. She didn't feel right pushing her assignment onto someone else, even if she was a bit ill. But what did it matter to him?

"You are not well." Was his response, further sliding the bin out of her reach. Sakura resisted the urge to pout as he took away her chance to contribute and not be a lazy good for nothing. She crossed her arms over her chest before the itch in her throat became a little too much to bear and she had to cough into her elbow. Through slowly watering eyes, she watched as he leaned into the classroom and called someone, probably to do her job for her. Great, now someone was going to tease her about slacking off.

"Sasuke will take you to the infirmary." What? Sakura's elbow dropped slowly from covering her mouth as said boy entered the hallway. Sasuke? He was going to…what? Her eyes fell on sensei who smiled in her direction while Sasuke's back was turned.

"But who's going to-" she began to protest.

"The trash will be taken care of. Get better, Sakura-san." He waved and walked back into the class, probably to get some random student to do her job. Sakura frowned before focusing back on Sasuke only to see that he was no longer in front of her but halfway down the hall. She quickly caught up with him, matching his strides.

It was silent for the most part, only the sounds of their shoes hitting the floor and the occasional student entering the halls to take care of homeroom duties. Sakura slightly fidgeted beside him, messing with the sleeve of her blazer as thoughts roamed about in her head.

She should be happy. Her crush since Gods knows when was walking her to the infirmary. It was a scene copied right of a manga and pasted into her life. Every girl's dream. So why was she apprehensive about the whole ordeal?

'_Uchiha-sensei,'_ she frowned at the thought of him. The way he smiled at her was troubling. Was he making fun of her by sending Sasuke's to escort her to the infirmary? Was it a joke to him? He had somehow found she liked Sasuke so maybe—Oh no…

What if he told?

"…kura? Sakura!" the sound of her name being called yanked her from her musings none too gently. She whipped her head around to Sasuke staring at her, confused.

"Huh?" she answered. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I've been calling you for like two minutes." He said with a frown.

"Oh! Ah, sorry. I guess I got lost in my thoughts." She laughed nervously, scratching her cheek. What else could go wrong with Sasuke today?

"Hmm," and they kept moving, Sakura a little further behind. Oh how she wanted to kick herself. Once again, she made herself look like a loser. Never mind bullies, she could ostracize herself, by herself!

"I didn't know you were sick." He said suddenly.

"Uh yeah. I didn't really figure it out until this morning so…" her voice trailed off as she looked to the side, trying to desperately think of something cool to say should he continue talking with her.

"How? D'you stay in the bath too long?" a small smile made it to his face as he turned toward her.

"Now that you mention it, that's probably what happened." She said in response. It was the only logically explanation. It hadn't rained recently, nor had she been around any germy people. And her mother did warn her about staying in the bath too long.

'_Yeah, that has to be it!'_

Sasuke watched from the sides as Sakura seemed to be having some sort of conversation with herself. If he was honest, and he always was, it was kind of amusing. Her facial expressions were comical and so animated. This was a new side of Sakura that he wasn't used to seeing. A side that was like a breath of fresh air. She looked so unguarded from her usual slightly nervous stammering self that it was actually kind of refreshing.

Maybe she wasn't afraid of him after all.

A slight chuckle pulled Sakura from her musings. She looked up to see him turned away from her with a hand covering his mouth. Was he laughing? What would he be laughing at? He wasn't laughing at her, was he? Was she doing something stupid?

"Sakura," he started, clearing his throat and straightening.

"Yes?"

"Be honest," his gaze was hard, looking in her eyes with such seriousness that he was making her nervous.

"O-okay."

'_Stop stuttering!'_

"Are you—"

"Ah! Haruno-san! Uchiha-sensei said you'd be by." the two teens looked up to see Shizune, the school nurse, standing in the doorway of the infirmary. Sasuke cursed to himself while Sakura was left wondering what he was going to ask.

"Thank you for bringing her. Come Haruno-san, let's get you checked up."

* * *

Later on that afternoon it had begun to rain. It started off as a nice fall sprinkle but soon turned into a hard downpour. The rain continued on during club activities, cancelling most of them including any class practices that had been scheduled to use the field that day. Luckily they made it to the gym before any of the other classes so they could practice indoor sports instead.

"Sakura, over here." Shikamaru ushered her over to center court just as they were stretching. Standing with him were Naruto and Sasuke along with another girl from their class, Ninomiya Yuuki.

"Here are the formations for volleyball. Since no one from the volleyball club is in our class, you two will be captains. You're the best we've got. Go over the plays with the rest of the girls." He handed the sheets to Sakura and her new co-captain to look over. Most of the plays had each girl in six of the spots according to where their strengths and weaknesses were.

"You're a captain just like us, Sakura-chan!" Naruto praised, throwing an arm around Sasuke's shoulder. The latter shrugged him off, opting to scoff at his statement, opposed to also complimenting the pinkette.

"Only reason you're captain is because Kento's out sick for the week." He smirked at Naruto's sudden frown. He then turned his attention towards Sakura just as she and the other girl were leaving. Part of him wanted to ask if she was ok since her visit to see Shizune. But another part hesitated because he simply didn't know how she was going to react. He instead focused his attention back on what Shikamaru was saying about the changes he had made to yesterday's plays.

Despite feeling absolutely miserable during classes, Sakura was feeling up to playing a little ball. Shizune hadn't said anything super important, just that she had a little cold and to take it easy. No biggie.

"Here are the formations for our matches next week. We should probably practice them today to get used to the rotations." Yuuki said, passing out the sheets to all the players.

"Haruno-san and I will be leading as team captains."

"What?" Ino piped up, momentarily ignoring the sheet with Shikamaru's neat writing all over it.

"Is there a problem Yamanaka-san?" Yuuki asked.

"Ino…" Sakura whispered as the blond shot her a nasty glare before stomping off, heading to the boys side of the gym.

"Shikamaru!" she bellowed. The boy visibly slumped, refusing to acknowledge her shout. Instead, he began to pick at his ear with his pinky as she whipped in front of him, nearly smacking him with that wild ponytail of hers.

"What is it Ino?" he asked, staring at the wax on his finger before flicking it away, much like he wanted do the girl in front of him.

"This has your name written all over it!" Ino glared, waving the paper in front of his face.

"That's because I wrote them." He tried to explain.

"Not this! That! Why is forehead captain?" a stiff finger was pointed at the girls team, specifically Sakura who seemed to be busy explaining the many ways to serve the ball.

"Forehead? You mean Sakura?" he answered, confused by her choice of names.

"Who else has a brow that can be seen from miles away? Yes I mean her! Why is she captain and not me?" she asked desperately, eyelashes batting away false tears that began to pool in her eyes.

"She's better than you." Shikamaru deadpanned, enjoying the utter look of defeat that crossed her features. Even if calming her down was a pain, seeing her to riled up about anything was almost too good to pass up. There was never a dull moment with Ino and part of him was glad he got to see all of them.

"She's—what do you mean she's better? She is not!"

"Geez Ino, just deal with it." Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Ino's cheeks turned an awful shade of red before she balled up the paper and purposefully tossed it at his head. She muttered a few choice words before shoving passed him and stomping back to the other side. The boy sighed and bent down to collect the paper with an odd smile on his face.

Never a dull moment.

"I can't believe he made _her_ captain instead of me." Ino huffed angrily, watching Sakura and Yuuki working together with the other girls to get the formations right. Someone held left their sheet on the bleacher and since she had 'disposed' of hers before getting a good look at it, she decided she might as well find out where she'll be at.

According to the chart, she was apart of formation B, in the setters position.

'_Well duh, I'm the best setter. At least he got that right.'_ She scoffed to herself. Formation A and formation B would be playing against each other during practices. Looking over the sheet a little more thoroughly, she noticed that Sakura was apart of formation A, in the serving position.

"How could he pick Haruno over you?" A snide voice called from behind. Ami quickly descended from her perch up on the top bleacher to take a seat next to Ino. The two weren't really on the best of terms, considering they both harbored feelings for Sasuke. But in this given moment, they had one thing in common.

"Yeah…"

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

They were in the middle of their second match to 25 when Sakura began to feel her cold acting up again. All of the sudden her head started pounding. Maybe it was all the noise in the gym, the balls hitting the ground, shoes scurrying across the floor, shouts and calls coming from all directions. Maybe it was her nerves acting up since the boys were on break and had decided to watch them play.

"Go team!" or maybe it was Ami's shrill voice coming from the sidelines. Sakura grit her teeth, hands on her knees while her eyes stayed on the ball as it travelled over the net with the help of her teammates. Bump, set,-

"Haruno-san! Do your best!"

Huh?

Spike!

"Oh!" the whole chorused and cringed when the volleyball came soaring across the net and landed smack dab on Sakura's unsuspecting face. The sheer force of the ball sent her careening backwards and onto her back while it bounced somewhere off to the side. The rest of the team all crowded around her to see if she was ok.

"Haruno-san?" Yuuki called, crossing under the net to check on the pinkette. Sakura's face was scrunched up in pain. Her face tingled in sheer discomfort while her eyes burned with unshed tears.

'_It hurts! It hurts so bad!' _she whimpered slightly, grateful for the hands that picked her up from the floor and led her over to the bleachers.

"Maybe you should take a break, huh?" Yuuki suggested while the rest of the team went back to playing, sending in a sub to cover up Sakura's absence. Her hand rose to her throbbing nose, checking for blood. She sighed in relief that there was none but still cringed at its tenderness. Actually her entire face was tender, even her ears and they hadn't even been hit.

"What'd you expect? How could the ball miss that big forehead of hers?" a group of girls giggled loudly at Sakura's expense.

"And she's supposed to be captain? Can't even keep her eye on the ball." Had her headache not increased to a migraine, she would've given them a piece of her mind. But as it stood, she didn't really have much a mind to give at this moment. She groaned, holding her head in her hands. If only she had something to get rid of this ache in her skull. Something cold. Like the drink being pressed against her forehead.

Wait, what?

"Hey," Her body flinched in reaction to the cold beverage against her brow as her gaze followed the hand holding the drink. Sasuke was standing next to her with an identical one in his other hand. A blush crept up to her cheeks as he stared at her, probably waiting for her to take the drink. Hesitant, she accepted the tea, wrapping her fingers around it and resting it in her lap.

"Th-thanks," she whispered quietly.

"Aa." He replied. Sakura watched him, out of the corner of her eye, as he stabbed the drink with his straw and drank from it. Each movement was so fluid and done without thought, it was like magic. Everything he did was natural, so captivating, so breathtaking.

"You got hit pretty hard out there." He said.

"Yeah," a nervous laugh escaped her lips before her teeth bit into the bottom one. Great, he saw her get creamed by an inanimate object.

"I wasn't paying attention."

"Sakura," his tone was deliberate, sending odd shivers up her spine. She eyed him with curious eyes, recognizing the same look on his face from earlier, at the infirmary. Was he going to continue where he left off?

"Huh? She answered.

"Are you—"

"Sasuke! Come on! We're starting again!" Naruto yelled from the other side of the gym, waving at the two. A groan rumbled in Sasuke's throat at being interrupted again before he stood, leaving Sakura to watch him leave.

"Ah…!" she started to call after him but faltered once she realized there was really nothing she had on her mind to say. But he paused, looking back at her with blank, dark eyes, before his gaze fell to the floor.

"Take care of yourself."

* * *

**A/N:** End of the chapter! Did I mention how much I love making these chapters so long? I feel like I'm giving you tons of valuable info so they have to be long! Anyway it's time to assess!

In this chapter Sakura is a little under the weather which spikes concern out of Itachi and Sasuke. I wonder why? Also Naruto's barking dog situations seemed to have resolved itself, if only for the time being. And we got a hint of ShikaIno towards the end. But! Ami and Ino seemed to have joined forces, and what's this? They may have the other girls on their side as well! This may spell trouble for out dear Sakura!

Thanks goes to: **Bishie Huntress, EmoSakura95, Moruri-tan, ellessia, Uchiha Jennifer, Sinister Blossom, Lady lauren, angel178, wraaww, and sasusaku3623649!** We've made some progress, let's not stop here! We've got a long way to go!

Sorry that this update took a little longer than expected, I was preparing to go out of town and just lost track of updating this particular story. Don't give up on me yet! Thanks for all your support!

Krystal


	5. Bonding

Chapter Five—Bonding

It only took a couple days for Sakura to get over her cold and by that time it was the weekend. And the weekend meant a lot of things. One of those things was running errands for her mother. Said errands included, but were not limited to, shopping, getting fresh flowers for the house, and taking out the recyclables.

Her parents were very busy so she often tried to do as much as she could to take a little stress off their shoulders. She didn't mind having to do most of the work around the house, part of her actually enjoyed it. So long as she could be of some assistance, she'd keep working without any complaints.

She had just gotten settled in from taking out the trash when her mobile started ringing loudly from her bedroom. Feet padded hurriedly against the floor as Sakura made a mad dash for her room, nearly tripping through the along the way. She didn't get phone calls very often so this was like rare moment.

"Hello?" she answered, trying to ride she was nearly out of breath. She was so frantic with answering the phone, she hadn't even seen the caller id.

"Sakura-chan!" The voice on the other end cheered. Sakura arched an eyebrow before slowly smiling.

"Oh, hey Naruto." She replied. She should've known. Naruto was one of the few people with her number who actually had the gall to call her at all. Most of the time it was because he needed something but sometimes he just wanted to talk.

"What's up?"

"We're gonna have one last practice up at the school tomorrow and—"

"But tomorrow's Sunday." She protested, standing up from her crouched position to fix her rumpled sweatshirt.

"I know, I know! But we didn't really get to play soccer or baseball! Anyway you're coming, right?" he asked, completely changing the subject. Sakura guessed that was a trait about Naruto that she was rather fond of. He never stayed on one topic for too long. She figured his brain was constantly working and thinking of new things to talk about that one was never enough.

"Yeah, I guess I'll be there." She replied.

"Great! I also need a favor." Sakura sighed. She could picture him begging with his hands pressed tightly together, holding his mobile. He had this weird way of suckering, or annoying, people into giving him what he wanted. Begging was just a part of his charm.

"What is it?"

"Could you make onigiri for everyone?" he asked. Surprise fell over her features at his request. Usually he'd ask her for extra money, or help with homework, or a date though he hadn't asked for one of those in a while.

"Onigiri? Why?"

"Because it tastes great and we're gonna need something to eat tomorrow." Wow, he really liked her food that much? Sakura bit her lip at the sudden anxiety that manifested itself in her throat. It was one thing cooking lunches for Naruto and Sasuke. But making onigiri for the entire class? To her that seemed like the worst idea ever.

"Thanks but I don't think I have enough ingredients for that." Some might call that an excuse, but Sakura called that the truth and if it worked as an excuse too, well that was awesome. But there were at least thirty people in their class and onigiri was like potato chips, you couldn't eat just one. She'd have to make over three dozen!

"Oh, I guess you're right…" his voice turned into a murmur almost like he was talking to someone in the background. Sakura stood awkwardly, switching ears while bouncing on the balls of her feet. For some reason, she had a weird feeling about what he was asking her to do. She wasn't some master chef, wasn't even in the cooking club. So why was he asking her, of all people, to take on such a job?

"Naruto," she called.

"Hang on Sakura-chan, I'll call you back later." And he hung up. Sakura pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it with a look of disrespect. He didn't even give her a chance to voice give her opinion about a solution or even say goodbye.

Sighing for what seemed like he umpteenth time, Sakura closed the phone and grabbed her school bag, preparing to finish the homework that had been assigned for the weekend. She also planned to get some studying in. Exams were pretty far off but you could never start preparing too early. Besides that, she needed to start applying for college pretty soon, those were the exams you had to look out for.

About halfway into her history lesson, she heard the front door opening, most likely her father returning home from his job. He worked in finance at one of the major banks in Konoha, which she thought was a tad strange. Her father was a very cheerful man, always joking around, so it was a little weird for him to have such a boring job like finance.

"I'm home!" Sakura heard him call into the house. He'd usual come bearing gifts from the local convenience store like hot buns or fresh fish if he had stopped by the market. She was a big fan of pocky so sometimes he'd pick up a box or two if he was in a generous mood.

"Welcome back!" she yelled back, craning her neck a bit to see him as he passed by her room on the way to his. He tossed a box of chocolate pocky through the door and Sakura smiled at the sound of the biscuits crashing together when it bounced off the bed.

She once again busied herself with studying for another hour and a half before the front door opened again and in came her groaning and tired mother from what she was assumed was a rough day at the clinic. Her mother was a medical assistant at a small doctor's office on the west side of town. She worked for a famous plastic surgeon, known for her awful temper and even worse drinking habits.

"Sakura!" her mother called from the front room. Sakura smiled and walked down the hall, tugging on the sleeves of her shirt as she went.

"Yes?" she answered, peering around the corner. Her mother was situated at the counter, gazing at the fish laying cold and dead, wrapped in white paper.

"What is this nonsense your father brought home this time?"

"It's not nonsense," called her father in a humorous tone. He appeared behind Sakura and entered the kitchen with his hands on his hips. Sakura's mother just glare at him as he came upon the sea creature, giving it a loud slap on its side.

"It's fresh eel!" he exclaimed, holding it in his hands so the head was pointed at her clearly disgusted mother.

"What did I tell you about spending money on useless things?" she growled, fists shaking at her sides.

"It's not useless, Shouko! And besides, you and Sakura love eel! And I got it for a bargain!" he declared, shaking the eel for good measure but backing away once her arms started twitching. Sakura stood off awkwardly to the sides, trying to avoid what could very well be their annual squabble of the month. She was distracted only by the sound of the doorbell. .

"I'll get it." She called to the deaf ears of her parents. As she approached the door, she wondered just who in the world would be at her door at this time of day. To her knowledge they weren't expecting anyone, at least she wasn't. So with a sigh, she unlocked the door and pulled it back.

"Good evening!" Her eyes widened. There was Naruto standing at her door, donned in a white tee and shirts with two large sacks in his hand—was that Sasuke beside him?!

"Eh?" she exclaimed, flinching back in surprise. Naruto just grinned while Sasuke looked off to the side, seemingly irritated about something.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" her father called from behind her. His gazed over her head at the two young men standing at his door before blanching and gripping Sakura by her shoulders.

"You-! Boys-! Is it already that time? Papa's not ready for this, Sakura-chan!" he cried, falling to his knees before a rightfully surprised and embarrassed pinkette.

"Pull yourself together, Hiro! We have guests!" Shouko quickly picked up her whimpering husband in favor of greeting the two who seemed a bit out of sorts at their current display.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked, finally able to form words that weren't the equivalent of baby talk.

"You never called her back, did you?" Sasuke asked with a frustrated expression while Naruto suddenly became aware of his mistake and sheepishly smiled.

"Ah, I forgot." Was his reply.

"Idiot…" he grumbled.

"Hey, it was a simple mistake! Anyone could've made it!" Naruto retorted, angry at being insulted.

"Er," Sakura started awkward, not really wanting to be in the middle of yet another fight. "Why don't you guys come inside?"

"Sorry for the intrusion." They both recited, removing their shoes as they did so. They entered Sakura's home with wandering eyes, taking note of furniture and the kitchen sitting towards the back.

"It's so nice to meet friends of Sakura." Her mother called with a very polite voice.

"But Shouko, they're boys!" Hiro exclaimed, tears running down his face.

"Hush!" she threatened, agitated by his behavior.

"I'll fix some tea." Sakura groaned. Her father had always been a little uneasy about her growing up. It had been smooth sailing for the most part, seeing as she never had a boyfriend before. But having both Naruto and Sasuke over at the same time was probably heartbreaking.

"We're in the same class! Sakura-chan's been fixing us lunches!" Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke remained politely silent, only nodding in agreement.

"Eh? So that's why she's had so many…"

"You knew about this? Papa's not ready…"

"Dad…" Sakura groaned, placing a cup down in front of everyone at the table. She sighed and took a seat next to her grinning mother while ignoring her odd stares.

"So…" she began awkwardly, still a little confused about why they had showed up at her house show suddenly and with so many bags.

"Oh yeah! Well, I called Sasuke here and we bought all the stuff for onigiri so you could make them for practice tomorrow!" he said, knocking Sasuke in the arm with his elbow and laughing for the other boy pushed him away.

"Eh?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"But don't worry! We'll help you!" he added quickly at the sight of her expression. At first, she looked absolutely mortified at the thought of having to make that many rice balls. But then her expression morphed into that of a somewhat relieved one.

"It's not fair for him to ask you make them all." Sasuke added with a shrug. At his comment, Sakura blushed a little while scratching her cheek a bit. It made her a little happy that they were agreeing to help her with this, even if she hadn't totally agreed to it.

"Ok!" she beamed.

"But Sakura-chan!" he father whined, clearly upset with the current situation. Shouko made short work of his protests, however, by dragging the crying man away by the collar of his shirt and waving goodbye, wishing them luck.

Sakura sighed at her father's behavior as she cleaned up the drinks. Naruto offered to help while Sasuke busied himself with taking the bags into the kitchen.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto began.

"Hm?" she answered.

"Why are you wearing long sleeves? It's still hot out." He asked, suddenly.

"Ah, I get really cold sometimes." She admitted with a shrug.

"Really? That's weird!" he laughed.

"It is not! Shut up!" he flinched away, afraid of being hit but Sakura merely pouted and trudged into the kitchen where Sasuke had emptied the bags and laid everything out on the counter.

"Let's get started." She said. Usually when she cooked, Sakura liked to use an apron. Not because she was a particularly messy person but because she liked the feeling that wearing an apron gave her. It made her feel like a legitimate cook who wouldn't make a mess of things.

Once it was tied securely around her waist, she sat to getting the rice cooking while instructing the boys on preparing the filling the seaweed strips. She noticed they bought various fillings, mostly likely to satisfy everyone in the class.

Once the rice was done, she quickly got to work on the first batch, wetting and salting her hands before taking a nice portion of the rice in one of her hands. She dented the middle of it and placed a random filling inside wrapping more rice around it and forming it in the shape of a triangle. Happy with the shape, she placed a strip of seaweed around it and set it aside. She gazed at the other two to see their progress.

Not so good.

"You've never made onigiri before?" She asked, a little amused at their lame attempts. Naruto's was falling apart and Sasuke's dwarfed his seaweed strip.

"It's a lot harder than it looks." Naruto admitted sheepishly while Sasuke remained silent, glaring at his poor job. Sakura had to hold back her laughter at the sight, thoroughly amused by their creations.

"You have to be quick about it, otherwise it won't hold. The rice needs to be hot in order for it to turn out good. You don't want to get too much rice otherwise it'll overshadow the filling. But you need enough to balance out the amount of filling you have. See?" she explained, holding up another perfectly sculpted rice ball. Naruto nodded enthusiastically before getting to work once more. Sasuke eyed hers once more before starting up again.

Sakura kind of watched them work with a small smile. Both of them were having a bit of trouble but it was fun seeing them so into it. It was probably the first time she had ever seen either them work so diligently at something. To be honest, it was kind of cool.

About midway into it, Sakura's hair started getting in her face. She was constantly blowing up her bangs out of the way and getting a little irritated at them tickling her forehead. She also noticed Naruto and Sasuke experiencing the same thing.

"I'll be back." She called. Retreated to her room, Sakura came back with generic hair clips, one for each of them.

"Here." She offered, but they were both in the middle of cooking so it was a little hard for them to take it.

"Can you do it for me, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, eyebrows furrowed and mouth crooked while his hands worked around the rice.

"Sure." He turned towards, a titled his head a bit since he was a tad taller than her. Sakura reached up her hands, fingers a few of his blond locks, and clipped the hanging pieces on the crown of his head giving view to his sun kissed forehead.

"Thanks!" he beamed before focusing his attention on cooking once more. Sakura beamed before realizing that Sasuke needed his too.

"Ah…" she turned towards him, only to see him already in position for her to clip his bangs. She blushed, swallowing audibly before breathing through her nose and mirroring her previous actions. Only she unconsciously did it a little slowly. Sasuke's bangs were long, nearly covering his eyebrows, and they were straight.

Her hand twitched, itching to feel his undoubtedly soft locks between her fingers. But they were surprisingly thick and a bit coarse. It was a little harder for her to get all the strands to fit underneath the clip. But when she did, it gave her a clear view of his milky white forehead, something she'd never since before.

It wasn't wide like hers, but a nice size in equal portion with the rest of his face. Looking at him this way was like taking a glance into a part of Sasuke she'd never seen before. Like how thin his eyebrows were. They were almost always hidden beneath his bangs so they were hard to see.

"Thanks," came his reply once he lifted his head. Then his dark eyes gazed into hers and she froze. He was staring at her head on with a blank expression, eyes capturing her and holding her captive. She slowly lowered her hands to her side, never looking away from his eyes, thoroughly entranced. It wasn't until he blinked that she snapped out of her stare and whipped around to her work station, blush covering her entire face.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered before clearing her throat.

"No problem."

* * *

"Ah my hands hurt!" Naruto groaned, letting his head fall into the counter. Sakura laughed, tossing some stray rice in his face. He grimaced before returning the favor, hitting a concentrating Sasuke instead, but laughing all the same.

"Loser…" Sasuke muttered, rubbing the rice off his cheek with the back of his hand.

"You guys want to take a break?" Sakura asked. "We're almost done."

"Yeah, a break sounds great!" Naruto exclaimed, stretching his arms up high. He walked around the kitchen back to the front room where he took a seat at the table. Sakura watched him an amused expression before finishing up her last one, stealing a glance at Sasuke. He was picking at some rice on his hands and popping them into his mouth every now and again.

She watched with a slowly rising blush at how his finger was poised against his lips as if asking permission for the rice to enter. His jaw moved up and down in time with his cheeks, sharp and defined. Even his throat was a magnificent sight, especially when he swallowed, Adam's apple barely poking out.

_'Sakura, you're a pervert.'_ She scolded herself, before turning away. She wiped her hands on her apron before turning to Sasuke once more. Even though they had been there for about an hour, it was still astonishing to know that Sasuke was actually inside of her house, in her kitchen, cooking alongside her. Who would've thought that she'd make it this far since his birthday party.

"Sakura," he started suddenly. Sakura was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of his voice and turned to him slowly.

"Are you," there came that question again. What he was going to ask, she had no idea. But the thought him wanted to ask her something did strange things to her insides. Slowly he turned to face her, eyes quickly finding hers while his hand leaned on the counter.

"Are you-!"

"Hey! Are you guys coming, or what?" Naruto called from the front room. Sasuke groaned at Naruto's obvious interruption before removing his hand from the counter and making a move to slip passed Sakura. She stiffened at his departing figure before turning to watch him go.

"Never mind." He said in a rather defeated tone. This had been the third time he tried to ask her this question. She figured it had to be pretty darn important if he was going to such great lengths to ask her whatever it was that he wanted to know.

"W-wait!" she called while clumsily gripping the back of his shirt. He halted in his movements, surprised by her boldness while she couldn't even believe what she had done. She fingers twitched around the fabric of his shirt while she bit her lip, thinking of what to do next.

_'Way to go Einstein. Now what?'_

"What were you going to ask me?" Might as well get to the point right? She released his shirt right as he halfway towards her, hands stuffed in his pants pockets.

"It's not important." He said, scratching the back of his head as if he were embarrassed about something.

"Oh," she said dejectedly. "I see."

After an awkward silence between the two of them, Sasuke left the kitchen to join Naruto in the front room, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. She was a tad confused, disappointed and a little sad, honestly. Ever since the day he had to take her to the infirmary, he had been trying to ask her something. She couldn't understand what it was that he wanted to know. It seemed to be a little important; otherwise he wouldn't have tried so many times to ask her.

So why had he said it wasn't important? Maybe he was embarrassed by whatever it was, but she never remembered Sasuke getting embarrassed about anything especially when it concerned her. And here she thought they were making progress, at least in the area of friendship. But what kind of bond did they have if he couldn't even ask her a question?

She hoped to find out soon.

* * *

**A/N:** End of chapter 5! Sorry this took a lot longer than the other chapters. I started school last week so I've been preoccupied. I worked this periodically and didn't get a bulk of it done until the weekend. But it's here! What do you think?

Enter Sakura's parents! I recycle OC's, just so you know. They're personalities are closely matched to Sakura's parents in the anime. Or at least that's how I hoped to write them. Poor Hiro! He's shocked at the thought of little Sakura growing up! And Shouko's just irritated by her husband's antics. Now! I actually have never made onigiri before but I plan to in the near future. The description on how to make it, I found on a blog so I don't own any of that.

Naruto and Sasuke pop in for a visit to help our heroine make food, isn't that cute? I kind of used this chapter to contrast the tree climbing exercise from the land of waves arc. Did you guys catch that? Kudos to you if you did!

Thanks goes to:** smiah852, Lady Lauren, bestfriendsmusic, sasusaku3623649, yuri sempai, cat-tastic, Pink-Cherry- angel, musicismylife17, XxaoshixX, and Kiku Yasai!**

Next chapter will be out (hopefully) next week. But no promises! I'll shall see you then! Until chapter 6!

Krystal

P.S.- Sorry about the mistakes! I'll correct them later!

P.S.S.- Promoting Punk to Princess and Meeting You! Go read those stories if you like ItaSaku and Advanceshipping!


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